By IANS,
New Delhi : The assembly elections in the national capital Saturday saw about 60 percent of voters exercising their franchise, an official said.
“Voting in Delhi was by and large peaceful except for a few small incidents. The voter turnout was a little over 60 percent,” Delhi’s Chief Electoral officer Satbir Silas Bedi told reporters.
Fate of 863 candidates, including Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, was sealed in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) by Saturday evening when the balloting closed.
Election took place in 69 out of the 70 constituencies of the Delhi assembly and balloting in Rajinder Nagar was deferred following the death of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Puran Chand Yogi.
Bedi said the polling was extended in Keshav Puram and in Bhatti Mines area due to large turnout of voters.
“The lowest polling (recorded) was 55 percent in south-east district while the highest one was in south-west district with 63 percent. Overall there is an increase in voting in both rural and urban area,” Bedi added.
The official said at least 10 EVMs malfunctioned during the voting at some polling booths.
“Four were replaced and six were corrected after there were startup problems. It was done in our stipulated time of 1-20 minutes,” Bedi said.
She, however, refused to connect the polling with the Mumbai terror attack stating that they were already expecting an increased polling this time.